“Does he play ball?” asked Tommy, quickly. “Call him over.”
“Hey, Joie!” shouted Billie. “Come on over and meet a new fellow. We’re going to have a ball nine.”
Joie came over slowly and was introduced to Tommy.
“Do—do you mind if I sit down?” asked Joie, wiping his fat face with his handkerchief. “It’s getting hot.”
“Good baseball weather,” commented Tommy. “Do you play?”
“No. I’m too fat, I guess. Anyhow, that’s what Jakie Norton said.”
“It’ll do you good to play ball,” advised Tommy. “You won’t be so fat, then.”
“Say, you ought to see what happened to Jakie Norton to-day,” spoke Billie. And he told of the trouble about the bat.
“Oh, say, if we’re going to play, come on,” begged Tommy. “There are five of us, and we can play ‘two-o’-cat,’ with two batters, a catcher and a pitcher, and one fellow to chase the balls. We’ll draw lots to see who does the chasing, who pitches and who catches.”
“That’s the way to do it!” declared Joie. “I hope I don’t have to do any chasing,” he added, with a laugh. Tommy liked Joie from the start—in fact, most boys did—for he was jolly and good-natured, and he didn’t in the least mind being called “Fatty.”